In this powerful episode of the Self Love Podcast, Kim speaks with Sabeel Burgess, survivor, advocate and founder of Open Haven to share a story of resilience that spans continents and generations.

Born in Bangladesh during political unrest and later displaced across India, the UK, and eventually Australia, Sabeel’s early life was shaped by trauma, abandonment, identity loss, and homelessness at just sixteen. Along the way, she uncovered hidden family truths and began to understand how deeply generational trauma and early adversity can shape our nervous system, relationships and sense of self.

In her mid-twenties, Sabeel experienced a pivotal awakening, recognising that what she had endured was not normal and choosing to begin a conscious journey of healing. That decision transformed her life and ultimately led to the creation of Open Haven, a Brisbane based postcrisis organisation supporting women and children escaping domestic violence.

Open Haven bridges the critical gap between crisis accommodation and long term independence, offering transitional housing and holistic support including financial mentoring, practical assistance and ongoing guidance to help women rebuild their lives sustainably. With a compassionate and structured model, the organisation is helping break cycles of abuse and creating real pathways to freedom.

This episode is a moving conversation about survival, self-love, healing generational trauma, and turning personal pain into purposeful impact.

About Sabeel:
Sabeel is the founder of Open Haven and a lifelong advocate for women and children.
Shaped by her own lived experience of domestic violence, she transformed adversity into action, recognising a critical gap in support once survivors leave crisis and begin rebuilding their lives.

With a background in teaching and close work alongside social services and child protection, Sabeel saw firsthand how many women were left without guidance, community, or long-term support. A natural problem-solver and researcher, she established Open Haven in 2017 to address what was missing: post-crisis care that restores dignity, stability, and hope.

For Sabeel, this is not just work, it is purpose. Seeing women reconnect with community and thrive affirms her belief that lasting change is possible when survivors are supported beyond survival and into new beginnings.

Her definition of Self Love is: Self love is not extravagant or indulgent it is choosing safety and resting when it says stop. It is setting boundaries even when things are uncomfortable.

Her favourite quote is from: Rest is not a reward it is a responsibility.

Links to follow:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/openhavenau/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/openhavenltd/
LinkedIn: https://au.linkedin.com/company/open-haven-ltd
Website: https://www.openhaven.org.au/

Quotes:
I think there is so much power in story telling.
I often wonder why, why did I survive?
That was my entrance to the world.
From an early age I experienced quite a lot of trauma.
They say the first five years of our lives are the most formative and yet for me they were the most traumatic.
I am a woman of faith and I do believe I have a density.
Open haven was born because of the adversity and difficulty that I experienced.
I remember feeling an incredible sense of Abandonment.
I lost culture, language and identity.
It was a time of difficulty but growth.
People provided a framework of support.
We all want to be seen. We all want to be loved. We all want to belong and most importantly we want to feel safe.
What I considered normal was not normal, it was a pivotal time.
There were days I didn’t want to get out of bed but I had to face it.
It is a journey and never linear.
You are choosing to go forward. Every day is a choice.
I needed time to heal.
I always loved community.
It is looking after every aspect of their lives and providing support.
I look at a perpetuator with compassionate.
Our women do not go back. They know they have a framework that will support them.
As a leader when you give your yourself permission to rest you give others permission to rest too.
Self love is modelling what we do. It is saying I am enough.
 

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